海角大神

鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

British authorities arrested 12 men of Pakistani descent early Monday morning in what was described as a major operation to disrupt a terror plot.

The men are being held on suspicion of the 鈥渃ommission, preparation, or instigation, of an act of terrorism in the UK,鈥� according to the police. The arrest comes after a suicide bombing in Sweden聽on Dec. 11, Germany's warning on Nov. 17 of "concrete indications"聽of a series of looming attacks, and travel alerts in October from the US and Japan of terror threats across Europe.

Britain鈥檚 terror level threat is currently 鈥渟evere,鈥� the second-highest rating, which warns of a high likelihood of attack. Today's arrests were carried out by unarmed officers, which the 聽said suggested that police did not believe an attack was imminent from the men aged between 17 and 28.

"This is a large-scale, preplanned, and intelligence-led operation involving several forces," said John Yates, Britain鈥檚 top counterterrorism police official, reports Agence France-Presse. "The operation is in its early stages so we are unable to go into detail at this time about the suspected offences. However, I believe it was 聽in order to ensure public safety."

Except for one suspect who was arrested in Birmingham, they were arrested at their homes in Cardiff, Stoke-on-Trent, and London around 5 a.m., and police are now searching their homes.

Counterterrorism sources told the BBC that the 鈥渟ignificant鈥� operation was related to an investigation into 鈥�.鈥� The BBC reports that the plot was related to explosives, and did not contain a plan for a Mumbai-style killing spree by coordinated gunmen.

In September, European security officials warned that a group was planning such attacks in the UK, Germany, and France. 海角大神 reported at the time that such an attack was likely far from being realized.

The BBC also reports that the sources do not believe the plot is linked to last week鈥檚 bombing in Stockholm by an Iraqi-born man who had lived in Britain. Nor was the plot part of a coordinated , according to a British security official quoted by the Associated Press. Iraqi officials warned last week that captured insurgents said the bombing in Sweden was a part of a series of planned attacks on Europe and the US.

CNN reports that Britain鈥檚 intelligence organization, , and says that the suspects were all of Pakistani descent. The BBC and the Guardian said some of the .

European nations have in recent months issued warnings of possible plots. Beginning with a vague 鈥渢ravel alert鈥� from the US State Department in October telling travelers to Europe to be advised of possible terror attacks, several European nations joined with warnings of their own. As the Monitor reported, France鈥檚 warning focused specifically on Britain, saying an attack there was 鈥渧ery likely.鈥�

Today's arrests were the first major raid in Britain聽since April 2009, when 12 suspects were arrested in one day. Police at that time claimed to have broken up a , but the suspects were never charged, according to the Associated Press.